Dam Lin why don't you play aggressive like you played in the forth quarter.......if he played like that every quarter they could have been on the winning record.......it seems like he is passive for the first three quarter then turn on linsanity in the forth quarter.....is this a coach decission????????

Well, Harden got his 20 points despite awful shooting, mission accomplished. Harden fans, ugh Rockets fans should be very happy. The purpose of this whole franchise is to let Harden score his 20+ points every game anyway so that Houston, this superstar desperate club and superstar desperate fans can create their own "superstar", they are not about winning or losing games really. See how they missed and talked up the T-Mac and Yao era despite winning nothing.

Remember that this is Harden's first year as a full-time starter as well as Lin's first year. Harden's having to adjust big time, and I think he's slowly learning that he cannot do iso-ball for the entire season and maintain efficiency, especially on a second game of a back-to-back on the road.

Both Harden and Lin are evolving and learning as very young players on a very young team. Asik, too. If Harden learns that playing team ball will actually allow him to play better over the course of the season, and if Lin can get a little better playing without the ball and becoming the team leader that he, not Harden, is, then, this team could become very dangerous come April and May, and then very formidable next season.

45% is not good enough for a 25+ ppg scorer and not good enough to get all the touches. Lebron shot over 50%. Kobe is being bashed constantly for taking too many shots despite shooting 48%. If there were no refs to bail Harden out and gave him so many bogus FTs, Harden would be 18 ppg scorer at best, nothing special, let alone all star/superstar caliber. There is a reason Harden normally performed more poorly on the road because the refs didn't give him as many bogus calls as in the home.

Harden is clearly all-star caliber, and again, remember, he's only 23 and hasn't even reached his peak yet. His problem is that right now, he plays like Carmelo Anthony instead playing more like a Lebron James combo scorer/playmaker. I think he still plays with the mentality of a sixth man, which he's slowly unlearning. Lin, too. He sometimes plays with the mentality of a role player, which probably comes from being told how much he sucks over most of his career.

Let's wait and see how the two play together in April and next season.

Lol comparing Harden to Kobe and Lebron is hilarious. Not to mention while those 2 guys score efficiently they play all nba D. And if people jumped on Lebron's lack of "clutchness", what made Harden's constant choking left and right in the clutch? The above poster is right. Harden right now is at last year's Carmelo Anthony at best, the tanking and inefficient one.

Also the difference between Harden and all other great scorers like Lebron/Kobe/Melo is clearly his lack of a mid range jumper. If opponents packed the paint, the refs didn't give him many calls on his drive as happened many times on the road, he's basically doomed. Let's be honest, if he's on any other team other than on the Rockets, he would never score over 25 a game.

I only compared them to underscore that Harden has an efficient field goal percentage, not to say he's as good as Kobe or Lebron. Basically NOBODY are as good as Kobe or Lebron in the NBA. However, Harden is a a stellar NBA player and his production underscores this.

I disagree: he would very potentially score 25 a game on other teams. Furthermore, your argument is flawed. He *IS* scoring 25 a game for the Rockets and doing so at a high field goal percentage. Your speculation that he wouldn't do so on another team really doesn't amount to anything. I just like giving credit to where it is due.

Also to say Harden has an "efficient" FG% is laughable at best. And using Kobe's career numbers as an example to justify Harden taking so many shots is also lazy. Do you know how many people get on Kobe's shot selection? So if Harden has the same % as Kobe, you also admit that Harden has a shot selection problem as Kobe? I also saw you not dare to use this number as the comparsion lol. You must know that Harden has the 3rd lowest shooting % among the top 10 scorers this year, only marginally better than Westbrook and Curry. I would not call this "efficient" if I were you.

JLin was in a way responsible for TD's benching. If JLin had played better from the start, TD wouldn't have an uphill battle coming off the bench. Because TD is a limited offensive player, Beverley is now able to wiggle his way in. Kind of feel bad for TD. This may be the end of TD with the Roxs.

The coaches seriously need to re-evaluate Harden's ball dominance. He's the best player on the team and should take the most shots, but in this game he really became a liability. JLin also needs to demand the ball more and take matters into his own hands.

I don't know. I would hate for Lin to lose his starting position but this team does not support him. He needs to find a place where he can develop into a great player and more and more I don't think Houston is that place.

I feel the same way. They play like they are not having fun out there, like to each his own. Only Lin appears to want to play "team basketball". He needs a coach who will trust him and believe in his ability to create plays like D'Antoni.

It's interesting to observe when the offense is set around Jlin - he goes on a scoring spree. Good to see Harden was setting pick for Jlin in the last quarter. Jlin is a confidence player but he needs to be more vocal in demanding the ball and take the responsibility in scoring for the team.

I honestly think that Les Alexander keeps Morey around in order to deliberately throw a public smokescreen at the rest of the league.

While Morey was sitting there last season publicly criticizing Lin's game and going so far to write a scathing article defending the Rockets' decision to cut Lin, Les Alexander was plotting ways to bring Lin back to his team. Meanwhile Les screamed and screamed at Morey in outrage and disgust every time Lin had a great game which was OFTEN.

Daryl Morey is an excellent contract man and a good public front for the franchise. I take him about as seriously as I take White House spokesmen - NOT!!!

Lin needs to shoot that near FT line pull up more often. He usually swishes that shot at ease in garbage time. I don't understand why he does not shoot it more often in normal time. It's actually one of his money shots.

I think this game is a turning point (I hope) for the Rockets. I've watched all the Rockets games except two, and this game is the first time Harden started to defer to Lin in the fourth.

The team is clearly tired. They've seem to all collectively hit a "wall." And January's schedule has been brutal. But, once the team gets their wind back and gel more as a team, I think they'll make the playoffs and be one of the most dangerous teams that no higher seeded team would want to face in the first round.

Your correct. The January's schedule is the Rockets' worst schedule. 12 of 16 games on the road. Six(6) back to back games, of which 4th one was played tonight (so they only have 2 more back to back games left within the next 15 days).

The Rockets are better off than some teams that have their worst schedule in March. For example, this one team (one of teams that I dislike) is scheduled for 18 games in March and 6 back to back games. (Rockets play 14 games in March and only 2 back to back games).

Its funny how hypocritical the posters at clutchfans can be. Everyone there is in love with Chandler Parsons and Asik. They will always ignore the gaping holes in their game and make excuses for them.

When Parsons was struggling, it was his shoulder. But when Lin fans talked about his knee that he had to have surgery on those same fans wanted no part of it. When every advanced statistical measurement shows that Lin is a plus defender they love to talk about how stats don't matter. Could it maybe be because those same stats show that Parsons is actually a weak defender? And every clutchfan raves about Parsons defense yet he gets burned repeatedly.

Lin misses a lot of close in shots? Lets give Asik a pass on his flying reverse layups he never hits.

Parsons has never proven himself to be anything more than a role player but everyone at clutch thinks he is already an allstar and a future max contract player.

Who do those fans want to trade for? Keven Love, Ryan Anderson, and Jimmer! Of course Lin fans only root for him because he is Asian right? White people could never be homers and root for their own kind ;)

I think Lin is polarizing in much the same way that Tim Tebow is. Fans who hate Tebow do so because they are annoyed by Tebowmania. Similarly with Lin and Linsanity. BUT. And this is a big difference between Lin and Tebow - Lin is a real point guard, while Tebow is ... sort of a quarterback. So, the Linhate should die down when Lin grows as a player, plays with consistency, and starts truly balling.

The only other polarizing player in the nba is Kobe. I just like how the national media constantly rip on Kobe's D while totally ignoring worse D played by their favorites, e.g. Harden, Irving. And people get on the number of shots he take although he still scores more points at 34 at a decent % than all these younger players. But I guess this is what being famous and popular gets you. Same goes for Lin. Like Kobe, I guess even when Lin won the championship, there would still be haters saying he was "overrated" and "undeserving".

It's crazy how every CF Game Threads always end up with pro-Lin and anti-Lin discussion. It really takes away any objectivity of coaching moves and how the players played as a team. You would have thought everyone wants Harden and Lin to play well off each other for the Rockets. But I guess fighting is more exciting.

It so happens that all those 5 guys you mentioned are white (Asik is from Turkey and not "white" but I look at him as one and his features are Caucasian-looking. Turkey is the most Westernized country from the Arab world and located more north, right below Eastern Europe).

We all know about Texas. If Harden wasn't such a good player, you know what. Regarding Lin - what do you expect.

Again, just like yesterday's game, Lin is doing all he can to help his team mates with good passes, while what did Harden do? He tried to be a selfish hero again while HR and DM are tied in the fourth. Harden have a bad shooting game today combining with his bad defense, he is not willing or reluctantly pass his ball to others. If the rockets want to make the playoff, these kind of plays cannot be happening! Where is the chemistry?

James Harden, the biggest ballhog in the NBA right now next to carmelo. 5-23??? are u serious... u gonna know to give it up when youre not having a good night, but he has to force that shit to get his 20points.

I think the rockets coaches keep asking him to shoot. I read in an interview somewhere...Coach McHale was asked about Kevin Garnett and he said KG's a pass first guy which is something he (Mchale) never taught him. He (Mchale) was always a shooting kind of guy. McHale was also quoted somewhere as saying it's selfish not to take a shot if you have one. So I guess he's the one always encouraging Harden to just shoot first.Sorry, I can't remember which article it was..but it came up after KG's run in with Carmelo

In Harden's defense, he keeps shooting because the coaches tell him to. And the coaches tell him to because Harden has been a clutch player, great in 4th Q, even when the opponents shut him down for the first 3 quarters - only it doesn't always work, which is why team ball is always best.

(I'm not privy for certain, but feel that it must be true. Otherwise, wouldn't Harden get in trouble and would stop doing it?).

We were lucky enough to score low level baseline seats on the home bench side, just right of the basket (look, mom, we're on ESPN!). Absolutely perfect for watching someone who prefers to go to his right go to work in the 4th quarter.

Lin is solid (as in physically). And he's fast. Really fast. Watching him run at us for back to back drives has been the highlight of the season for me.

I've only had time to look up one set of numbers, but to me, the game was lost at the free throw line. Not ours (yeah, Lin could have made maybe 2 more, tonight I don't care, I saw the anguish/disgust on his face, he knows), but theirs. I can't believe the Rockets fouled so much. Maybe we're getting sloppy (correction: more sloppy?) because of fatigue, I don't know, but since the losing streak, our fouls on the other team have led to (FTA) 16, 16, 19, 26, and tonight, an absurd 43. No discipline.

Another thing that the baseline perspective gave me is that we absolutely give up any hope of a lateral offensive rebound... Parsons and Lin (I'm sure all of them, these are just the ones that stuck in my head) *would* have been in perfect position to get the OR, but by the time my eyes turned back to where I thought they would be, they were already running back. I don't know if this is part of the "solution" to transition D, but I hope we're not giving up too much if we bail so early on 3's (since we take, and miss, a gazillion 3's).

Beverly looked great... but what do you expect from someone who comes into the game with a PER of 107.5!? :) His 3rd foul was such a stupid foul, though. As he went out, Lin met him on the court for a high five and clearly told him "Good job". Lin's all class.

Totally random, but I had no idea Greg Smith is so pigeon toed. I had to chuckle to myself because he made a comment in an interview about how McHale was working on his foot positioning, specifically the angles of where his feet point, and now I see that quote in a completely different context.

Alright folks, thanks for putting up with me all season. I think I'm going to take a break from posting for a bit. Much thanks as always to JLinfan#1 and all the posters who have made this such a fun place to visit. Best of luck to Jeremy, and everyone keep the faith.

I remember that KHuang has said that as Harden has even less starting experience than Lin, his ability to handle trap is actually much worse than Lin. I think this game totally proved it. If you look back on last year's Lin vs the Mavs at MSG, the Mavs used the tactics on Lin, using the long Marion on him plus constantly trapping but Lin still handled brilliantly. Harden? The only good game he had against the Mavs was the game that Marion didn't play.

The best thing for Jeremy, Harden, Parsons, McHale, Asik and EVERYONE is for Jeremy to run the show and be the primary high pick-and-roll handler. Jeremy would average 18/8 (at least), Harden would get a super-efficient, no sweat, 25ppg, Parsons would have wide-open 3s, cuts and alley-oops, Asik would have Tyson Chandler shooting %s.

BUT NO. McHale has already decided that Jeremy is a fluke and Harden is MJ. And the whole team is paying for his idiocy.

Remember the first two Lakers games when a (healthy) Steve Nash played in the Princeton system? He was AWFUL. I know it's a small sample size, but when a two-time MVP looks totally LOST, it's no coincidence.

Even now, Nash is doing just good-not-great (10p/10a) despite having Kobe, Dwight and a rejuvenated Metta.

That's why I hope they trade Lin to Utah for Millsap. I read that Millsap (PF) will be a free agent next Summer and Utah is in need of a point guard. The Rox will likely have to offer another player along with Lin.

Marion nailed it during the half time interview. All you need to do in order to stop Harden is take away his launching pad. Put a body on Harden before he initiates his euro step, and Harden can do nothing else but pull up shooting 3s.

And mfastx (one of those guys that just love to argue) immediately says:

"So that means that 25% of plays run for Lin are P&R? That should be more than enough, for all the people saying that Lin needs a P&R to be effective on a daily basis."

That's how you know he doesn't know what he is talking about, how can you, as a starting PG have such low PnR rates? Esp considering when:

- 25% of his few touches isn't that many, Jeremy's usage rate is #43 out of all PGs at 19%.- Raymond Felton gets 40%+- Jeremy was at 42.5% PnRs last season, so this season its 43% less- Jeremy is asked to shoot more than twice as much spot up jumpers something he's bad at

Guys/gals, that's why I've been saying all along that Lin is consistently improving, as KHuang would say, ball don't lie.

With some of the LOWEST PnRs run for a starting PG, yet his stat line has been steadily increasing. He is getting more and more efficient and aggressive at the same time, he is still deferring somewhat, but sometimes it could be confused with Lin just looking for a higher quality shot. Admittedly sometimes I am guilty of blaming his teammate's inability to finish on Lin deferring.

Why didn't they complain that Lin also took away Harden's touches and shots? Apparently 20 points at 5/23 shooting are not enough for our beloved superstar, Harden needs more shots to score his 30 points!

Even though JLinFan#1 criticized me publicly for criticizing Lin's jump shot form, I won't waver from my opinion that sometimes Lin REVERTS to that horrible looking corkscrew jumpshot he learned from Doc Scheppler. That's why Lin suddenly can't hit free throws. But when Lin turns his body to the right the way great NBA shooters do, he has a BEAUTIFUL RELEASE that goes IN.

As usual, I am amazed at the way Lin will go one on three and consistently score or assist with no picks to bad teammates. The last player I saw do that was Michael Jordan, and even a rookie Jordan had a better team than what Lin has.

All I ask of any NBA player is that he make the most of his time on the floor. Jeremy Lin is doing that and improving. Once he gets that jump shot down, he'll become as good a guard as I have ever seen in the NBA.

Oh my just read the recap of CBSSports http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20130116_HOU@DAL/nowitzki-mavericks-hold-off-linled-surge-rockets and i am pissed on the way they trashed Jeremy as if it was his fault that the team lost.

all the while i thought i am in for a good read as finally the title of the article has no Harden on it -- "Nowitzki, Mavericks hold off Lin-led surge, Rockets" but alas! here are just some of the unbelievable spin in the story

"Lin and James Harden combined to score the last 18 points for the Rockets, who erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit and got even at 97." (excuse me but the points are almost all lin and he was almost the only one who erased that 11-pt deficit offensively and defensively)

"Lin had a chance to tie the score on free throws, but missed the second of two. The Rockets got one more chance to go in front, but Harden couldn't get a good look at a layup. Nowitzki won a scramble for the ball and hit two free throws for a 101-98 lead."(ok so Lin missed a free throw but what are the happenings before that miss? and ok there's the excuse Harden couldn't get a "good look" hence the miss)

"Harden led the Rockets with 20 points but made just 5 of 23 from the field. Lin had 19 with some critical misses among his 6-of-10 shooting on free throws." (wow really? All love to Harden and nada for lin... poor jeremy can't even get a break even with a good game. and when he has 0 TO and Harden has tons, no word from the Houston bench)

"The Rockets were down one and Lin had chance to give them a lead, but he missed the first of two free throws and tied the score." (unbelieavable! Ok... no thank you there just pure blame)

I feel so bad for Lin, he just couldn't get a break, even from Rockets media people... he is all alone in the battle :(

This current losing streak reminds me of last year Knicks' 6 game losing streak right after Linsanity, with both Harden and Melo tanking on D and jacking up low % iso shots on O. I wonder if Harden really buys in McHale despite McHale's babysitting of him. I don't think McHale has control of Harden. There is no way McHale, supposed to be a coach who peaches on D and knows the game so well as a player, couldn't see Harden sucking on D, could he? But still McHale couldn't get Hardem to put in a lick of effort. Sometimes this kind of "star" like Harden or Melo might not need a babysitter who let them do whatever he wants, they need more of a disciplinarian.

"The Rockets once again spent their margin for error much earlier, crashing in 19-0 run to 15-point deficit."

"Lin on coming up short: "If I could make a free throw, that would be nice." Harden: "I have to make layups." Both are correct"

"Asked if Patrick Beverley would remain in the rotation, McHale would not say, leaving it at "We'll see.""

Jason Friedman:

"That'll do it. Rockets once again get so close to comeback but unable to get over the hump. Mavs beat Rox for 9th straight time, 105-100."

"Couldn't understand why Mike James was playing so much. Now know. Jeremy Lin just torched Darren Collison in 4Q. Another Lin FT ties game."

Howard Chen:

Howard Chen ‏@ho_chenCSN"Good idea for Lin to get it to Parsons. Execution a bit off..."Mustafa Khan: how was it a good idea? we needed a 3.Howard Chen: @MoosePharm Lin was in a bad position. Parsons cutting was the best option from where he was at. The whole possession was at a funky state.

"NICE help D there by the Rockets. Now back with the ball, Lin gets fouled, will have a chance to retake lead for Rockets"

"Lin has scored 10 of the Rockets' last 12 points as they've come back to make this a game"

"Jeremy Lin. RISES up when the time's right. Rockets within 1."

"Jeremy. Will. Not. Be. Denied."

"Nice speed and touch off the glass by JLin. Now, time for a stop."

Marc Stein:

"Jeremy Lin on state of @JLin7 & struggling Rockets: "I'm doing OK. But I know I'm capable of more ... and know the team is capable of more""

DALLAS — Jeremy Lin didn’t hesitate with an honest answer when asked if he feels like an All-Star.“Uh, no,” he said softly after another choppy performance Wednesday night as the Houston Rockets lost for a fifth consecutive time, unable to claw all the way back from 15 points down despite several chances late to go ahead.Lin nearly redeemed a poorly played game with a 14-point fourth quarter, but he missed one of his two free throw attempts on two critical trips to the free-throw line in the final two minutes. A badly executed pass in the paint down three with 14.9 seconds to go for his fourth turnover essentially sealed a 105-100 victory for the suddenly surging Dallas Mavericks, who have won four in a row.“If I could hit a free throw,” said Lin, who was 6-for-10 from the stripe, “it’d be nice.”It’s been that kind of season for Lin in his first with the Rockets, who also happen to be the host for the Feb. 17 All-Star Game at Toyota Center. While it’s James Harden – unable to salvage his own brutal shooting night with an aggressive fourth quarter that ended with two failed drives to the rim — who can make a strong case for consideration to be an All-Star starter (although he doesn’t have the fan votes), it is Lin who is being afforded the possibility.If enough Linsanity fans on at least two continents stuffed the All-Star ballot boxes and cyber boxes in the final weeks of fan voting that ended on Monday night, the former New York Knicks player and first American-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent could become a Western Conference All-Star starter while bumping MVP candidate Chris Paul to the bench.Starters for both conferences will be announced Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET on TNT. At last count two weeks ago, Lin was in third place among West guards, well behind Kobe Bryant, but only about 46,000 votes behind the Clippers‘ sensational CP3, who is averaging 16.8 points and ranks second in the league in assists and first in steals, while pacing his team to a 30-9 record.“That’s the furthest thing from my mind, to be honest, being on a five-game losing streak,” Lin said after finishing with 19 points and four assists, numbers that blurred a five-point night on 2-for-9 shooting through three quarters. “I don’t even care right now, I’m just trying to get a win.”The Rockets dropped to 21-19 on the heels of racing to a season-best seven games over .500 despite a deficient defense, but a team-oriented, jet-pack offense that has challenged West-leading Oklahoma City all season as the league’s top-scoring outfit.Lately, the offense has sputtered and Lin, averaging 12.3 points and 6.3 assists on the season — and shooting an abysmal 27.6 percent from beyond the arc — hasn’t matched any of those numbers during the losing streak.If Lin sneaks past Paul as a starter, the West coaches who pick the seven reserves will have CP3 at the top of their lists. But a deserving guard among a slew of them producing at an All-Star caliber — from Harden to Russell Westbrook to Tony Parker to Jamal Crawford to Stephen Curry to even rookie Damian Lillard – will unfairly be left off the 12-man roster.Such is the risk of a fan vote, and especially one that draws from an international fan base.“I would say I’m doing OK,” Lin said. “But I know I’m capable of more, I know I’m better than what I’ve shown throughout the first half of the season.”Hardly the tone of an All-Star.Which is why Lin never hesitated with an honest answer to the question.

Rockets report: Quality over quantity when it comes to offensive production

Finding balance on 3-point shotsThe Rockets’ balance between taking open 3-pointers and taking too many 3s has become a “fine line” that has been difficult to balance. With a season-high 37 3-point attempts in Tuesday’s 117-109 loss to the Clippers, they spent part of Wednesday’s preparations working to determine how to go from open shots to better shots.

“Our balance is always playing fast without shooting fast, turning down — which we haven’t been doing lately — good shots and trying to get a better shot,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “We’re kind of that type of team that will … have to shoot a few 3s and make a few 3s. It’s just a matter of the quality of those 3s. You always run that fine line.”

The Rockets take the second-most 3-pointers per game in the NBA, but they went into Wednesday’s game making 35.4 percent to rank 17th. But forward Carlos Delfino said the issue is not with the quantity of 3-pointers the Rockets take but with the quality.

“I think we need to understand where our struggles are,” Delfino said. “We get easy 3-pointers … when we take it to the basket and pass the basketball back out. When you do that, you get set and take easy shots. We were watching video and talked about how we have to play. On the film, we took early 3-point shots or contested 3-point shots. On a good night, you’re going to make those.

“But when we’re out of balance offensively, we miss those shots.”

Morris fine with bench roleThe Rockets moved Patrick Patterson back in as a starter to get more size on the series of power forwards lined up on the schedule this week, with Blake Griffin on Tuesday preceding Dirk Nowitzki and David West.

“It didn’t seem to help much, but I thought with Blake Griffin out there we’d try to get a bigger body out there and try to help less,” Kevin McHale said. “He kind of had his way with us down there, anyway. A lot of teams will go smaller later, and I think it’s a good matchup to go with Marcus (Morris) later.”

With McHale determined to limit Patterson’s playing time, they have shared the position fairly evenly, making it easier, Morris said, to go back to coming off the bench.

“It’s Pat’s spot,” Morris said. “I tried to hold it down until he got back. Coach thought he should be starting. It’s coach’s decision. … I’m going to come off the bench to do what I need to do to help the team win.

“It’s good to hear your name called. That’s the best thing about starting. That’s about it. Everything else is almost the same.”

DALLAS — No longer just sabotaging themselves with horrible stretches that dig deep holes on the road, the Rockets moved Wednesday to tormenting themselves, too.

As they had throughout the road trip slide, the Rockets rallied back, this time going a step further to come back from a 15-point deficit to a fourth-quarter tie with less than two minutes left.

With the game within reach, however, the Rockets fell apart in the final minutes again, with James Harden coming up empty on consecutive drives, Jeremy Lin missing a free throw and turning the ball over and the Mavericks doing just enough to hold on for a 105-100 win that sent the Rockets to a season-high fifth-consecutive loss.

The Mavericks four-game winning streak is their longest of the season, and gives them nine-consecutive wins at home against the Rockets with the Rockets dropping their 13th consecutive road game against a division opponent.

The Rockets, however, will be most frustrated by the chances they had, with Harden getting to the rim easily with the game tied only to have Elton Brand swat away his drive. After O.J. Mayo put in a pair of free throws with 62 seconds left, Lin cut the lead to one and Harden had another drive to take the lead.

Harden had wanted Carlos Delfino on his second drive, but his pass toward the corner was smacked back at him. With another chance, he took it to the rim, and came up empty. Forced to foul, the Rockets sent Dirk Nowitzki to the line where pushed the lead to three with 25.1 seconds left. When Lin turned the ball over, the Mavericks closed out the win at the line.

The Rockets had spent the night trying to make up for a dreadful first-quarter stretch when they threw the ball around the gym and the Mavericks took off on a 19-0 run. But midway through the fourth quarter, Jeremy Lin began to roll.

He beat Darren Collison off the dribble and then beat him again. After a pair of Harden free throws, Lin drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 1.

They completed the comeback with Lin putting in one of two free throws with 1:52 left, and then got the defensive stop they needed, with Carlos Delfino denying Dirk Nowitzki long enough for Mike James to have to take a 3. He missed and the Rockets had possessions for the lead.

They never could finish the run.

They needed it for the usual reasons.

As the NBA’s top practitioners of the art of the turnover, the Rockets changed their usual turnover style, starting with their customary live-ball style and then mixing in passes to wake up fans in the front rows. They had started well enough, leading 15-10, without a single turnover in the first five minutes.

Over the next seven minutes, however, they began flinging the ball around American Airlines Center like the halftime fat guys tossing t-shirts into the stands. They mixed in a few clanged 3s, too, but mostly they took care of the ball as if it was a wad of gum that got stuck to the bottom of their shoes.

In a stunning six-minute stretch, the Mavericks rolled through a 19-0 run to a 14-point lead with the Rockets committing nine turnovers, capped by three-consecutive no-chance passes Carlos Delfino tried when the Rockets desperately needed just a good shot.

They finally got one with Toney Douglas stopping the Dallas run with a 3. The Rockets scored the first six points of the second quarter to slip in within five, but with six minutes left in the half, the Mavericks led by 14 and the Rockets had managed just 27 points in 18 minutes.

With that, McHale resisted any urge he might have had to bench everyone and settled for sitting his point guard. He called on Patrick Beverley, in just his second week on the team and second day since recalled from the D-League, and got an immediate spark.

Beverley played the final six minutes of the half, contributing five points, two assists, a blocked shot and rebound without turning the ball over at all.

The Rockets were within eight heading into the second half, and even with their starting backcourt unable to make shots, they clawed their way back, trailing by just two with 2 ½ minutes remaining before the fourth quarter.

They booted the final minutes of the quarter, giving up easy shots in the final minutes as the Mavericks pushed the lead back to seven with a 10-1 record at home when leading heading into the fourth quarter.

Still, the Rockets had managed to hold on to the ball long enough to give themselves a chance. They just needed Harden to be able to finish drives and the comeback.

DALLAS — Having led the fourth-quarter portion of the Rockets’ latest comeback bid, Jeremy Lin considered what could have been different and said, “If I could hit a free throw, that would be nice.”

James Harden thought of his final forays through the lane and to the rim and said: “I just got to make layups. That’s me. I just got to make layups and got to make free throws.”

That seems fair. Making layups and free throws could be a key to closing out a win on the road. They were conspicuously lacking in the final minutes after the Rockets came back from a 15-point deficit only to have the Mavericks hold on 105-100, sending the Rockets to their fifth consecutive defeat Wednesday night.

As long as the Rockets are assessing what could be different, or as Harden put it “things we can control,” here’s another idea: Don’t give away huge swaths of the game to force them to need monumental road comebacks.

On Wednesday, the Rockets sabotaged themselves as thoroughly as in any game in the losing streak, committing nine turnovers in a seven-minute first-quarter stretch in which they began flinging the ball around American Airlines Center like the halftime guys tossing T-shirts into the stands. The Mavs tore through a 19-0 run and the Rockets spent most of the night trying to climb back.

This was not different from the 14-point deficit in Philadelphia or the 17-point hole in Boston, with the Rockets rallying to within a bucket in those losses.

Harden sputtersThey recovered again Wednesday, even with Harden making just five of 23 shots and just one of eight the fourth quarter. As with the previous road losses, they had spent their margin for error long before their comeback came up two minutes and missed layups and free throws short.

The Rockets could have stolen a win, but after another in a series of spectacular lapses they had little reason to expect the results to be different.

“That’s definitely draining to always get in a hole, build momentum and have to fight, fight, claw our way back in the game,” Lin said. “Somewhere down the stretch, we run out. It’s frustrating. We need to find a way to be consistent for 48 minutes. I don’t really care how young we are.”

The Rockets did settle down, taking care of the ball long enough to give themselves a chance. They cut the lead to eight by halftime and sustained a run in the fourth quarter, with Lin twice blowing past Darren Collison to layups and nailing a 3-pointer. Down one with less than two minutes left, he went to the line, but made just one of two.

With the game tied, Harden took off for the rim, only to have Elton Brand swat away his shot. Trailing by two with less than a minute left, Lin made just one of two free throws.

Carlos Delfino denied Dirk Nowitzki the ball long enough that Mike James had to rush a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock. He missed and Harden again took off for the rim, but with 25.9 seconds left, missed again.

The Mavericks closed out the win at the line, giving them a season-best, four-game winning streak and nine consecutive victories over the Rockets. But even with the late chances, the Rockets knew they should not have needed to make every last-minute shot. If the losing streak demonstrated anything it would be that they cannot give away most of a quarter on the road and consider themselves good enough to win.

Opponents capitalize“The last five has been tough for us,” Harden said. “We’ve been doing a good job coming back in the second half and playing the right basketball. It’s the first half we’re turning the ball over and giving teams confidence and easy buckets in transition. We just have to do a better job throughout the whole game of being consistent with our turnovers and defense.”

That became apparent. As much as the Rockets have shown an ability to come back, they are stuck in a losing streak because they always have to.

HOUSTON - The storyline was all too familiar and far too painful to bear. Once more the Rockets found themselves forced to stage a fourth quarter rally and once more they found themselves right on the cusp of stealing victory from the jaws of defeat.

Unfortunately for Houston, however, that’s not where the sense of déjà vu ended. Over the course of their recent losing streak, the Rockets have been unable to propel themselves over the hump, always falling just short due to untimely turnovers, missed shots, porous defense or some combination thereof. And faced with that exact same scenario Wednesday night against the Mavericks, Houston succumbed to the same ill-fated mistakes that have plagued them for more than a week now as the Rockets dropped their fifth straight, 105-100 to Dallas.

In many ways, Wednesday’s loss represented Houston’s most excruciating yet during a stretch that had seen more than its fair share of heartache. The Rockets spent the vast majority of the game attempting to atone for the 19-0 run they had conceded to the Mavs during a first quarter seemingly filled with one Houston turnover after another.

But once the Rockets began taking care of the ball, they slowly, methodically and persistently started to chip away at the 15-point deficit they’d created for themselves. Chandler Parsons knocked down his first four 3-point attempts of the contest, providing some much-needed floor spacing and stability for a club sorely in need of both after that nightmarish opening period. Omer Asik (12 points, 15 rebounds) was tremendous, too, vacuuming nearly every available rebound that appeared in his neighborhood as he dominated the painted area virtually every minute he was on the floor. And Houston even received an unexpected boost off the bench from newly-signed and recalled Patrick Beverley, who made a big impact with his aggressive, disruptive effort on the defensive end and nifty playmaking at the other.

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Rockets were well within striking distance, despite suffering through a poor shooting performance from the field and a rare off night from James Harden (5-23 FGs). Houston nearly overcame it all thanks a strong team-wide showing from beyond the arc and a masterful final frame from Jeremy Lin. The Rockets point guard went into attack mode down the stretch, repeatedly beating both Darren Collison and Mike James off the dribble. Lin scored 14 points in all in the period, driving for layups, draining a triple and living at the line, where he finally brought Houston even with Dallas at 97-all with 1:52 left to go.

What Lin could not do, however, was bring the Rockets all the way back. He missed three crucial free throws down the stretch and unleashed a backbreaking turnover on an ill-advised pass in the final minute. That, combined with two more missed layups by Harden – one, it should be noted, that was brilliantly swatted at the last possible moment by Elton Brand – doomed Houston to its ninth straight defeat at the hands of the Mavericks, who have now won four straight in their effort to get back into playoff contention after an awful start to the season that saw them fall 10 games below .500 before their recent turnaround.

“Turnovers, missed layups, missed good shots,” said Kevin McHale, summing up what has prevented Houston from breaking through during its recent five-game slide. “We just go through some stretches where we have to fight back after that.”

Added Lin: “I don’t want to take any credit away from Dallas. They did a good job of loading and being in their spots. We were a little too nonchalant with our passes. We tried to force it a couple of times. I had a key turnover down the stretch that was unnecessary. It was just a combination of the two, and it’s been one of our problems.”

(What was missing to finish the big run to win the game at the end?) “Well, if I could hit a free throw that would be nice. They did a great job of protecting the rim, and we got in the paint and had a few that either got blocked or that we missed. I had a crucial turnover trying to get the ball to Chandler late, and so I’d say offensive execution on our part. They also got to the foul line a lot down the stretch, and they were in the bonus and did a good job of attacking us.”

(Were the turnovers a function of what Dallas was doing, or were they mental mistakes?) “I don’t want to take any credit away from Dallas. They did a good job of loading and being in their spots. We were a little too nonchalant with our passes. We tried to force it a couple of times. I had a key turnover down the stretch that was unnecessary. It was just a combination of the two, and it’s been one of our problems.”

This is why I would love to see Lin traded to a non-large-market team that needs a starting point guard; he will really elevate the team. I prefer he doesn't go to the Lakers (as a backup), although that's not too bad. The Jazz needs one badly right now; it would be a perfect timing. Besides, basketball is much more popular in Utah. The Pacers would be good also. Memphis may be too similar to Houston: Too many closed-minded and ignorant people in the South, to be polite.

I lnow SO MANY people from the South. Many call themselves rednecks . . . and some arey best friends!

Perhaps that's because my name Huang can sometimes be (mis)pronoumced in Taiwanese as "Ahng" or RED. So when one of those southern self proclaimed hillbilly rednecks calls himself that, I say that I am probably one too. That usually cracks em up good!

Actually, I do agree with Magic that "James Harden has made Jeremy Lin a better player".

Last season, I moaned and groaned that teams were blitzing Lin in the backcourt because the Knicks had no guard alongside Lin that could relieve ballhandling pressure by dribbling the ball and attacking the gaps.

This season, Lin has that player in Harden. For the most part, Harden has done a good job of attacking the gaps CREATED by opponents shadowing Lin off the ball. Plus, most of the turnovers Lin would have accumulated from being the sole ballhandler have been piled onto Harden who's become a total turnover machine.

Harden in his Scottie Pippen complementary role did well attacking the rim earlier this season as teams focused solely on Lin and let Harden shoot. But now teams are jamming up on Harden and Harden is struggling WORSE than Jeremy Lin ever has. It doesn't seem that way, but Harden is struggling worse than Lin did against Miami last season!!

Watching these games has solidified in my mind that Lin is the main man on this team and Harden is the sidekick. Harden may score the points and reap the glory, but on the actual basketball court the guy who's running the show is Lin. Harden indeed has "made Lin a better player" by successfully playing his complementary role by attacking the gaps and collecting turnovers that otherwise would blemish Lin's stat sheet!

I also agree with Magic. I can see Jeremy is a better all around player than last year despite his struggles. I really want Jeremy play the way like in last night game where he carried the team in the 4th quarter. I'd love to see this aggressiveness more often please Jeremy.

Watching this game last night solidified for me that the inmates(Harden) are running the asylum. Harden going into ISO mode when he shooting bricks. It was all about him trying to get his stats. I don't care what anybody thinks, if Mchale can't keep harden under control on court and they don't make the play offs, he is gone. Les Alexander finally has a young good team with lots of talent. He needs a coach that knows how to mesh that talent together.

Harden is the designated go-to guy so it's understandable that he tries to be the man in every situation. From being the sixth man to being labeled a superstar and to be given a max contract, Harden has tremendous pressure to carry the team. I think Harden is a team guy and his ISOs have a tendency to be misinterpreted as a ball hog. There's noone on the team that has the same amount of pressure Harden has right now. In spite of this, Harden was trying too hard yesterday because he did not trust his teammates. He tried to take matter into his own hands at every opportunity. The 4, now 5, game losing streak had him playing even more isolated and he became a liability himself.

As for JLin, he also is playing with tremendous burden, but JLin's burden is to prove that he's not a flash in the pan. So I agree with the ESPN commentators that Harden has taken a lot of pressure off JLin. For that reason, I don't know why JLin can't be more productive. We can call Harden a ballhog, but JLin is responsible for deferring a lot of that to Harden. JLin's deferrence can also be described as being a team player, or trying to set up his teammates. There's no dispute JLin is a team guy, but lets not miscontrue being a team guy vs deference as we here miscontrue Harden's ISOs vs anti-team.

JLin can ball. He needs to show it consistently every quarter and every game. He needs to let Harden know, I got your back. If JLin wants to, HE CAN BE THE GUY AND NOT HARDEN. As JLin said during yesterday's game, McHale is open on getting feedback from players. As smart as JLin is, I'm sure if he tells McHale what the issues are they will be examined.

You can't blame everything on Harden for last night loss to the Mavs. Yes, Harden has been giving the green light to score and has the support of the coaching staff and management. Lin on the other hand does not and is always conscious of what he does in the game that will result to his benching. Lin did not play a goof 1st half. He was tentative and not aggressive enough. I think Lin is always probing every team he plays with in the first half to see what the team gives him before knowing the angles and what the defense will give him later when he does turn it on. Harden did indeed play a poor game yesterday and there were several instances in the game where he could have passed it off to his teammates but instead decided to take upon himself to shoot or hold onto the ball. I blame this on coaching and management. Lots of articles are blaming Lin for the lost, but here is what I pin point as the turning point of the game:

1) James Harden bricking the 3 after the score was tied2) Lin taking a charge from OJ Mayo which was called a foul on Lin3) Harden having the ball and holding onto it too long and almost lost it, regained control and tried to go up for a layup, but got blocked by Brand4) Missed FT's from Jeremy Lin and Harden5) TO by Lin passing the ball to Parsons. I believe that was the only pass that he could have made since Parsons was cutting towards the basket.

The Rockets had many opportunities to take the lead but they did not come through and squandered those scoring chances. Harden should have drove to the lane instead of trying to pad his stats by shooting the 3 when he was bricking them all night. He as a player should know that shooting is not like a faucet where you turn it on and it comes out. Shooting is all about rhythm and feel. Harden clearly was not in rhythm and did not feel it all night long. He should have done what he has done best, which was take it to the hole and throw up his head to draw a foul. Being the main focus of the Rockets, he sure is not making alot of smart plays last night. The Rockets can't continue to hang with the big boys in the West if they are constantly playing catch up. Catching up puts alot of pressure and drain energy on your players. McHale as a coach did not do a good job of resting his starters yesterday and paid for it in this game. I used to think that McHale was critical and never heap praises on Lin because he wants him to not be complacent and learn from his mistakes to improve on his game, but the short leash and the constant pulling of Lin to the bench from yesterday's game shows me that the Coach just wanted to sacrifice everybody's else game at the expense of promoting Harden's game. Every line up he put out there has Harden in there and obviously it wasn't working. He is brain dead to not have noticed this because us casual fans can see this.

Also, I forgot to mention that when Lin was on a hot streak and scoring, don't know why all of a sudden he was deferring to Harden again. I don't know what was said during the time out, but after the time out Lin was just passing it up to Harden again. Hubbie Brown even called him out on it because he was in the zone and why the hell would you defer to Harden who did not have a good game all night long. It is a bit too late wouldn't you think to get Harden going and finding his shots. Lin did not make a good decision there on his part IMO.

There's only one possible answer to that question: it's what the coach wanted. Why else would he do it? Lin's 4th quarter run was more like "the game is half-lost anyways so fuck what the coach says I'll just make a run and see what happens" than something choreographed by McFail.

I don't believe it's coach related. JLin needs to show I'm the floor general and call for the ball. I remember there was one play Parsons was bringing the ball up, Beverley stood near halfcourt asking for ball.

I believe Lin did call for the ball several times but his teammates did not pass it to him, especially Delfino. It all stems from the coach. He needs to tell his players that Lin is the PG and everything flows through him or Harden.

On the positive side, Parsons does display similar level of athleticism to Landry Fields. So as long as McHale is willing, he can easily draw up fast break, or even alley-oop plays for Lin/Parsons. Sadly, there's no way Asik will ever be as effective as Tyson in athleticism, but with proper training, he can become more effective performing pnr's.

JLin is too good-natured and a lot of time it's seen as soft, because in a way, it is. Rondo was hated because he acted like a dickhead and demanded stuff. I'm sure the great PGs posses a side of nastiness that is a must have. I remember seeing JLin yelling at Melo and Stat last year when they laxed in defense. JLin has that nastiness, what happened to it?

If there's a perception that he's soft, it's because of his race and not his personality and game.

A Jeremy Lin team typically takes one season to weed out the malcontents and nonproducers. Either Lin gets PROMOTED by getting kicked off a bad situation to a better one (i.e. Knicks to Rockets) or personnel changes are made (Coach Killah, Teammate Terrorist).

The constant is Jeremy Lin. He'll play GREAT no matter what, just like he did yesterday.

Can you for once leave race out of it. JLin is tougher in what ways? Physically? He definitely can absorb some punishment. As for mental toughness, I'm not seeing one iota this season.

"The constant is Jeremy Lin. He'll play GREAT no matter what, just like he did yesterday."

No, it's not a constant, it's an absent. He doesn't always play GREAT no matter what. I admit he played great yesterday but it's not constant. His mental toughness has a lot to do with that. Deferring is not tough. Taking matter into your own hands is tough.

The Rockets' problem extend beyond that of Harden being the ballhog. Their predicament stems largely from the so called "Everyone is a PG except for Lin" syndrome. You see it night in and night out, particularly from Parsons and Delfino, SFs who enjoy bringing the ball up the court and act as PGs from the top of the key, while Lin is left hanging at the corner. If that's what McHale wanted, the Rockets should've signed Novak, not Lin. For a stretch after the Spurs and Knicks game, it seemed that the McHale clan "got it," but in the last five-six games, Rockets have reverted back to the pre-winning-streak formula for losing.

I agreed that no way should they like Delfino handle the ball. He alone was responsible for 5 or 6 TO's during the 19-0 run. McHale's mentality of having everybody handle the ball is because he wanted option on the team in case any team key in on your PG and stop him from distributing the ball. Don't know why he is afraid of this when they have Harden. McHale just got outcoached and seems like he doesn't not know what he is doing. He was so desperate that the kept subbing in Harden and taking him out and subbing in Beverly as well.

This game was actually pretty hilarious. Whenever Harden was subbed out, the score got close, then McHale tried to sub in Harden and put different combination of players with him but finally even he couldn't stand Harden and realize that he's the problem, not the people around him.

Its true. McHale was so desperate yesterday that he kept Harden on the floor with 4 fouls and even 2 fouls in the 1st quarter. Every line up that featured Harden in it did not seem to work until Harden finally got a couple of steals and made some attempt to score and cut the lead down. The lead shot back up again when Harden took upon himself to continue to shoot and brick his shots.

Sad to say this, but Rockets won't make it far with the current coach situation and the way how they are promoting Harden to be the main man and scorer. Teams are figuring out how to defend and stop Harden and it seems like Houston doesn't have any game plan when Harden is stopped. Houston will constantly try to force feed Harden and make sure he keeps at it and scoring eventhough it may take him 20+ missed FG attempts. McHale is not sold on Lin and it is showing. If he was 100% and have confidence in Lin then Lin would have been the one running the show and calling the plays.

I'm hoping this stat-padding craze would die down after the ASG, or after some trades. It's not entirely implausible that Harden is trying to stat pad his way into ASG, and that Parsons is trying to get a better contract (which he does deserve) during a trade.

A lot of the attitudes here make it so hard to root for the kid. Why support him, when his fans don't return the favor to anyone else (unless they help prop up his stats)?

The homer goggle bias is unbelievably ignorant. "Whenever Lin has no initiative or confidence to attack, it's Mchale's fault". Beverley played fearlessly, and balled his ass off. I suppose Mchale will punish him soon, am I right? Or does Mchale only punish asians? Are you guys mentally challenged or just immature? Mchale is not dubious nor prejudiced. That is just the way YOU think, and shows more about who YOU are, when you say that. He is sincere in wanting Lin to succeed, and takes him out when he isn't. If you can't see this, you are hopeless.

And the hate on Harden "the ISO ballhog", who takes less shots yet gets more assists than most of the top 20 scorers in the league, is so unwarranted and uneducated. Everyone who knows basketball, (ppl who've watched NBA for MORE than just one year), or ppl who actually play bball -which explains why a lot of ppl here do not... have immense respect for his unselfish style. Yes, he is unselfish and wants Lin to step up and help carry the load, and that's obvious, if you dare to look for it when they're both on the court.To those who think the grass is greener on the other side, and constantly cry out for him to be traded...you're delusional.

1. He has every opportunity to light it up when he has the ball in his hands, but he doesn't. If he's afraid to shoot, if he's afraid to drive, if he loses his starting spot, that's all his fault. Even if he's afraid he'll be benched- that's because of his mental weakness. Stop placing blame on everyone else, just because this unrealistic expectations of seeing Linsanity 2.0. Lin would be ashamed reading some of these ignorant posts. No humility or responsibility, self-centered, biased, spiteful, arrogant... you all are nothing like him.

2.If some of you think you'll have a warmer welcome in some other city, you're wrong. What did Knicks forums and Rockets forums have in common that was so divisive and resentful? LOF's. You so desperately want to see Linsanity 2.0, that when he can't, you throw everyone else under the bus, and even say hateful things about teammates/coaching. You only care about his stats so you can circle jerk and pat yourselves on the back. Hah! Zero respect for everyone. How can you expect any back from anyone? BB iq is practically nil here, it's embarrassing, and hilarious to most ESPN, realgm fans I've linked to this site. You aren't "fans" of anything, more appropriately full on googly eyed "groupies" trying to role-play as professional bball analysts. It's very comedic, keep up the great work so we can keep on laughing! lol.

I love the kid, and want him to go ham on this league. In truth, only a very tiny handful can find it possible to hate Jeremy, it's his "fans" with these attitudes here, who have created his great multitude of trolls and haters. Bravo! You guys bring on tons more hatred than he deserves, and I'm sure Jeremy is grateful to have you "on his side"!

Without Harden, there would have been too much pressure on Lin, and this would have meant more likelihood of getting injured. Mac has to get other players involved more and play starters less minutes. They are all tired out.

I don't know why you came in here with the preconception that there's a lot of "hate" here, I for one don't see any, so please point out specifically what/who you're referring to if you disagree. Secondly, about the groupie mentality, there are fans here who are equally critical about Lin's games as they are on his teammates. Your generalized degradation give far less credit than the guys deserve as a group. Third, if all these guys cared about are Lin's stats, they would actually be happy today, that is obviously NOT the case.

Bottom line is, Lin's fans measure his success not by stat-padding, but by his ability to lift up the Rockets as a team, and THAT is what Linsanity was all about to begin with, whether with NY or with Houston. You would know that if you've read more than one thread from this site.

Houston needs another strong PF to take the pressure off of Lin and Harden. I agree with eb5attorney that Harden takes alot of pressure off of Lin, but I would like to say that Harden doesn't make Lin better. Lin would have been in a perfect scenario with Kidd as his mentor if NY would have kept him.

oh look, mental midgets jarod troo and racha back again. funny how they took days off when lin filled up the stat sheet the past several games. according to them, lin should still be a D leaguer. talk about "nil bball iq".

there are mental midget haters like you, racha, who will never acknowledge lin has been ordered to stand in the corner, and then gets mysteriously benched for following said orders. it's easier to hate on lin than to admit you're a pissant nobody hater ;) mm hmm.

lol at you wanting written orders. i suppose lin just stands in the order out of his own choosing, right, hater? ;) nevermind the fact kenoshi owned you with statistical facts proving lin is one of the most underused pnr pgs in the league. stuff those facts down your throat.

I don't think Racha hates people. I think Racha is pessimistic about Lin because Lin isn't playing up to what he is suppose to be play. There are some nights when he is brilliant and some nights where he takes a back seat. As far as I am concerned, the Matrix did put a stop to Harden yesterday, which he couldn't do against Lin last year. Harden should have spoken to Lin on how to break the Matrix.

correction for ly: racha, along with you, are too dumb to acknowledge lin has been ordered to stand in the corner instead of running point, as proven by kenoshi's statistical facts stating lin is one of the least used pnr pgs in the entire league.

KHuang, for one I don't hate you. I get into disagreements with you and you can get on my nerves like I get on yours. You claim you are a real JLin fan, so are we. So when we get bashed for not being a kiss up, we can stand our ground and bash back. It's goes both ways.

For months, Racha has been flaming people left and right. He himself will admit to you that he hates me and most people here.

This argument has nothing to do with Lin. It has everything to do with people coming here to flame on Lin's fans."

KHuang, stop making yourself into an international superstar. I don't who you are other than a hypocrite and groupie.

These argument has everything to do with JLin. If it wasn't for JLin I wouldn't even be coming here. KHuang, you don't have the power and influence for me to come here day and day out. JLin does. Stop acting like you're JLin, you're not.

KHuang, you don't respect anyone here if they don't kiss up. So what makes you better? Nothing. You're a JLin fan. I'm a JLin fan. Who are you to judge. You troll this site like it's yours. Do you own it? Stop with the nonsense.

I had no idea he viewed me as making me into an "international superstar", especially since I never intended to become one.

I also didn't know that Racha feels that I "act like JLin." I would never have guessed that I act like JLin, especially since I'm so much MEANER and VENGEFUL than Lin is. I have a mean streak that Lin may never have.

What I do know is that Racha consistently hates people here and doesn't hesitate to flame everybody on this site.

As long as we know what Racha is here for - flaming Lin fans - we are GOOD.

Talking about inventing stuff, noone is a Thomas Edison doppleganger like you.

I don't view you as an intl superstar, but you certainly trying to act like one. You say we come here just to bash JLin fans like you. RONG. We come here to discuss JLin's game. And we encounter groupies like you thinking we're here to bash you. Stop making yourself to be more important than everyone else. You can speak your mind, and we can speak our mind. If it's bashing so what. Remember, we're here to talk about JLin, and not about you.

there is no logic in your long post. how do you know how Lin thinks of his fans? how do you know people hate Lin because of his fans? how do you know "only a very tiny handful can find it possible to hate Jeremy"? how do you know of all his fans' expectation? how do you know what Harden or coahes really think? so you born with basketball 'knowledge'? People should get whatever your so-called "education" before they open their mouth? Lin, Harden, or any other famous nba players, they are celebrities! they are there for people to love, to hate, to idolize, to criticize. why do I care for those who hate Lin? whatever they think, whatever they said for whatever reason.

Didn't Rasha said that Lin is just a mediocre bball player at best? Why the hell do you want to be a fan to a mediocre bballer? Is it so that you can criticize him all you want and bash Lin's fans at every opportunity you imagine possible? I just don't get it man.

KHuang, when are you critcal of JLIn's game? YOU ARE NOT and lets get that straight which is fine. I'm not gonna lose sleep over it unlike you. I DON'T CARE IF YOU ARE NOT CRITICAL. If I'm critical it doesn't mean you need to claim that I'm bashing, hating, trolling, and bunch of pother BS. So who's staring what, PLEASE. Bashing back and forth is inevitable because you kiss up to JLin no matter what and I'm critical of JLin no matter what. Different perspective as a fan.

And you're not whining, LOL? Actually, you're crying racism for all I know. Can you handle heat? From the way you respond you feel you got flamed so I guess you can't handle heat. Stop being a hypocrite. Everything you say about others you do the same exact thing. You say we bash, so do you. So why you think you're right.

facts straight from kenoshi's posts. facts straight from mchale's mouth from nba tv during the summer when he wanted to lin to become a "spot up shooter" in his own words. tell me how that crow tastes, son.

Lin has good games and not so good games. Just last game, I was yappin' away about Lin's poor production. Of course, you lie about that too because your goal is to flame people here.

I see the good, the bad, and the ugly in Jeremy Lin. I'm not an optimist or a pessimist. I am a REALIST, and I LOVE Lin's game and approach. You have a big problem with that Racha, and that's why you dislike people so much on this fansite.

This is a Lin fansite. You are free to hate on Lin and his fans all you want, and you are also free to get retaliated against when you go after people here. ENJOY.

You're still yapping. I don't want what you think they said. Show me a link. Show me something. Proof. Evidence. You know what that is? You make a claim that McHale "ordered" Jlin to stand at the corner, find the proof.

LOL, you're not a realist. Your love for JLin's game got you insane in the membrane, it's borderline worship. No, actually you're already in worship mode.

I'm critical of JLin not matter what, you're right about that.

You're not critical at all so stop acting like you are.

You're a groupie and I'm a hater. Doesn't make you any better to speak for the site. Anyone can come here and speak their mind whether you like it or not, agree or disagree. So stop acting like we're here to hate on YOU and other JLin groupies when you all do the same sheeet.

I forget where I read it from, but someone made a comment about McHale not being a big fan of crow-eating. And that after dismissing Lin early last season, it's hard on McHale's pride to acknowledge that he once misjudged Lin's talent. Whether the theory has merit or not, for me it's classy enough that, at the very least, he didn't pull a Keith Smart. I think McHale should be replaced not because he is a bad guy, just that a great player does not necessarily mean a talented coach, if his tenure with the T-wolves taught us anything...

over the summer, mcfail was on nbatv stating lin was raw and planned to use him as a spot up shooter. no surprise lin is one of the least used pnr pgs in the league. thx to kenoshi for posting those irrefutable statistical facts.

Khuang, you sir need to shut your pie hole. Just because I give my opinion that is anti Lin getting traded doesn't mean I am a racist. I am Asian as well and what makes you such a judge of character that you call everybody who even has anything negative or critical to say about Lin a racist. You should wake up and smell the smelly tofu because nobody made you judge and executioner at the same time.

khuang's just putting you in your place, ly. and LOL at you using mormons in your anti trade lin argument. karl malone wasn't a flippin mormon either, yet he and stockton seemed to do just fine in utah.

Why do I need to lie about being Asian. I am Asian and proud to be Asian. If you don't know what is the truth then I would restrain from spewing lies or misconstruing the truth. You can't handle the truth!

That comment about Mormon is suppose to be a religious joke you fool. Like somebody mentioned before, the grass is always greener on the other side. Just because Lin gets traded to Utah doesn't stop you fanatics from complaining that he will or won't be utilized correctly.

How is it utter trash. Only somebody who has no sense of humor would think that. How is it that the Jazz will trade Millsap straight up for Lin. The contract doesn't match up and also they would need to get rid of their 3 - 4 other PGs for that to happen. Wouldn't Lin be put in the same situation he will be in Houston if his teammates are going to resent his 25M contract? Please get your facts straight before you make any comments.

KHuang, you do realize there's a John "Ly" and then there's a John "Lee", right? Don't know if you have a beef with Ly in the the past, but I'm pretty surprised to see you act like this. I just started posting very recently, but have been reading the site for a while. Calling someone a racist is serious accusation without solid proof. I don't necessarily agree with everything Ly says, but I see no sign of racism.

When I am wrong, I apologize openly and profusely. I have no problems with you.

But there are RACISTS on this site, and heck yeah it's a serious accusation.

There are tons of trolls who surf here lying about being Asian in order to spew tons of hate filled racism against Lin fans. I am their lightning rod because of my Asian screenname.

As you peruse this site further, you will learn how racism has a fingerprint of its own that recurs consistently and predictably. That is part of not just being a Jeremy Lin fan, but an Asian American like myself.

I have enjoyed the board aplenty since Lin's days in New York. After trekking through RealGM, ClutchFans, Bleacher Report, SBNation, etc., I figured this is the best, most diverse (in terms of opinion) and unbiased community for a Lin fan to frequent.

At the risk of sounding like a self-proclaimed moderator with a big head, please excuse my humble attempt to call truce because from my fobbishly fresh perspective, I have yet to see signs of reak racial malice.

Perhaps it's a vestigial sentiment from my moderating days in a Gundam forum, but I really enjoy the harmony when everyone gets along, agreeing to disagree.

What do you mean I can't handle the race card? Why do I need to? I'm an Asian so how is your race BS going to affect me. Something traumatic happened in your life for you to bring out this race BS over and over again. That's your PERSONAL thing, keep it to your self. There will always be racism as long as we are yellow, white, brown, or black. No way around it that's just life. Accept it. We don't need to accuse people of racism so nonchalantly here, or anywhere.

The guy gets away with insulting just about everyone whom he disagrees with and his paranoid, constant use of the race card (which is mostly bizarre), just because he's relentlessly positive about Jeremy's play, which is what a lot of the fanatics here want.

I really don't mind his "unique" points of view, but he's almost a lock to respond combatively if you engage him in debate. IMO, it's driven a lot of posters from this blog/forum. I don't expect the moderator(s) to do anything about it, but it'd be nice if he'd tone it down.

Khuang is so idiotic that he can't tell the difference between John Ly and John Lee. What makes you think he can tell the difference between a racists and a true Asian. To him a racist is somebody who criticize Lin. Khuang is on Lin's sac like how McHale is on Harden sac and also like how Sampson is on TD sac. He and ntt are the epitome of idiotic and nonsense. He can't even read in between the line and find any humor when I said Lin can't become a Jazz because he is a Christian and Utah is a state full of Mormons. ntt, to answer your question, nobody orders Lin to stand in the corner and shoot threes. It's called floor spacing. When Harden has the ball at the top of the key, players around him want to give him the most space available for him to either cut to the basket or have an outlet pass (usually on the wing) to open shooters. Your statement that Lin was order to stand in the corner just tells me that you have no concept of how to play bball. Your version of bball is playing on your playstation 3 or Xbox. Please leave the analyzing to people who actually play and watch the game and can make an intelligent argument about the game.